In life we often encounter situations when we direly need help of one sort or another. Many of us may right now be in such situations. For example, there may be some who have just arrived in the country and badly need a place under the sun - a job, an accommodation, a family and some friends. There may be others who are settled here for some time, but may have now become victims of the present economic circumstances and desperately need new opportunities. Some may have no economic difficulties but under social pressures from this society may be facing hard times.

Of all the Qur'anic passages about men and women perhaps the one most often misunderstood or misused by both Muslims and non-Muslims is verse 34 of Surah an-Nisa. The English translation of this verse reads as follows:

The Qur`an is not a book of science and therefore its purpose is not to teach us science. In fact, in talking about the natural phenomena it often uses very traditional language. But using traditional language it often rises far above the level of scientific knowledge of its own time and brings us very close to the most recent scientific findings. Muslim writers have pointed out several examples of this such as the process by which a human being is formed in the womb.

Muslims believe that the Qur`an consists of words that were miraculously formulated by God in the heart of the Prophet Muhammad, his will playing no part in it. This is also expressed by saying that the Spirit (or the angel Gabriel) revealed the verses of the Qur`an to him. This belief did not develop as a result of gradual reflection or as a result of a decision taken by the community after the Prophet. Rather, this belief was a part of being Muslim from the very beginning for the simple reason that the Qur`an itself clearly states it (2:23,97, 4:82, 6:19, 10:38, 14:1, 17:86-88, 26:192-194, 27:6, 42:24, 56:77-80, 80:11-16, 81:19-29, 85:21-22). To be a Muslim has always meant to accept Muhammad as the Messenger of God which in turn has always meant accepting the Qur`an as the word of God.